Saturday, April 7, 2012 The Bridal Shower

     Last night, my matron of honor held an absolutely delightful bridal shower a few of my closest women friends and me.  I did not expect her to do anything like this, and I admit I was a bit nervous as I don’t generally enjoy being the center of attention for an entire evening, but after leaving my house and a hectic last day of work and motherhood for the week (my youngest son has been struggling with respectful and responsible behavior to the point that I have had to pull a classic “teacher move” and have him sit in his room and write sentences such as “I will not walk away from my mom when she is talking to me” 40 times, and I had to leave him doing that with my fiancé yesterday in order to not be any later to my shower than I already was) and arriving my best friend’s house where I was immediately offered a fabulous Kaffir Lime, Lemongrass and Ginger Martini, I quickly settled in and relaxed for an evening of casual chatting and an informal, yet gourmet dinner.  Once everyone had arrived and consumed copious amounts of Baby Brie and Caramelized Onions wrapped in Puffed Pastry with Table Water Crackers, my very talented matron of honor served a delectable dinner with a starter of Shrimp Bisque, and a Mixed Spring Greens Salad tossed with Lemon Vinaigrette. The main course was Chicken Breast Cutlets stuffed with Mushroom Duxello and Goat Cheese, and just in case you were not quite full, she served a dessert of Hawaiian Tea Cookies, decaf coffee, homemade Almond Biscotti, and a sinful chocolate Hoho Cake made by one of my other closest friends. It was lavish and wonderful, and I am so thankful to have such a kind, considerate, intelligent, and beautiful group of women friends here on the island with which to share the details of my exciting adventures into marriage. Most of them will not be able to be at the actual wedding in Oregon (except for my matron of honor, of course), so this was our time together before summer vacations start and those who are moving on to new adventures in the states pack up and fly out.  I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. Each year I am able to continue to live on the atoll is a blessing, but each year is also uncertain. Life changes quickly sometimes, so it’s important to slow down occasionally and just enjoy the friendships you have made along the way. Thank you, my fantastic Matron of Honor, for giving us the opportunity to do just that!! J